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•	1987 Album

•	2018 Album

•	1987 Album

In retrospect, the music for *batteries not included really doesn't offer a Horner collector anything newsworthy, especially with better exploration of all of the various components of this score in later efforts. Still, however, it is a serviceable score best heard on a shorter album presentation. If anything, *batteries not included proves that Horner was either obsessed with the style of Glenn Miller's vintage jazz or simply really good at emulating it. The jazzy structures you hear in this score are very similar to those of Cocoon: The Return. They occupy a significant portion of the musical landscape here, opening the film and providing spirited enthusiasm to the endeavors of the lead couple. The composer actually recorded much more of this style of material for *batteries not included than was actually used in the picture or available on the initial soundtrack album. If you've never been appreciative of either the disparate environment caused by this style of jazz in Cocoon: The Return or the more extensive variations in Swing Kids, then *batteries not included is limited in what it can offer you in its remaining parts. Horner writes two themes for the orchestral renderings, one of mechanized percussion and bouncing woodwind rhythms for the alien saucers themselves and a more standard lyrical idea for lofty strings that represents the sentimentality of the tale. The first theme of descending mystery tinkers with creative sounds in "Night Visitors," though Horner's noise-makers and other sound effect-like devices to denote cute robots are nowhere near as interesting as Jerry Goldsmith's similar employment of creativity at the time. The prancing optimism of this theme sometimes segues directly into the jazz, and a few of the perky combinations of the two sounds are very similar to Horner's forthcoming Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The latter theme, the one of friendship, is a more fluid orchestral identity that opens the "End Credits" with a full statement in typical Horner fashion after several flourishes in previous scenes during the latter half of the film. Collectors of the composer's works will notice significant similarities between this idea and one in The Land Before Time, the most complete and obvious connection coming in the first thirty seconds of "Hamburger Rhumba."

Outside of Horner's rotation between the two main themes of *batteries not included are a few unique passages usually denoting suspense for the villain's henchman with equally familiar Horner techniques. The entirety of "Arson" (along with a few jabs at the conclusion of "Farewell") consists of slightly dissonant, melodramatic rumbling for lower performance elements that culminates in a truly disturbing crescendo of despair at the end. On the whole, however, *batteries not included is a mostly pleasant children's genre-type of work that will appeal to devoted collectors of Horner's 1980's jazz-infused scores. Only existing on an early MCA Records CD album from the film's debut, the score was difficult to obtain for a long time. For casual film music collectors, the recommendation on that album was the same as that for Cocoon: The Return, though this score has more intrigue to offer. In 2018, Intrada Records finally pressed a limited edition of the score that doubled the amount of material offered, appending the original 46-minute album's edits onto the majority of a second CD. The longer presentation is largely redundant but does feature a few notable additions, including the highly varied whirlwinds of "Aerial Ballet" and "The Flying Lesson," the challenging suspense of "The Basement," and the most important addition: the lyrical conclusion in "Out of the Ashes." Along with these cues are several rather mundane, soft passages for only portions of the orchestra. On the other end of the spectrum are the extended sequences for the flying saucers, such as "Babies Buzz New York," that are readily capable of annoying the listener in their fuller breadth. This additional comedy element, joined by "The Bread Box" and "Carlos," really grates on the nerves after a while, and the full 90 minutes of the score on the Intrada album will test your patience with Horner's slapstick mode. Some of the metallic scraping noises Horner employs for the robots' antics are downright maddening and distracting. While there is intellectual merit to the fuller presentation, *batteries not included struggles to maintain enough sanity for 90 minutes to justify the longer album if you already own the rare shorter one. The sound quality was not appreciably improved on the 2018 product, so approach it with the knowledge that everything you hear in its ranks was better developed in subsequent scores that may function better on album for you.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

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For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15 (in 108 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.23 (in 203,346 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.